Conflict In S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is conflict ridden with character vs character, character vs self, and character vs nature. The Greasers and the Socs hate each other enough to pick fights for fun. After one night fateful night Johnny was forced to kill one of them to protect Ponyboy. This event caused them to go into hiding. They left the building for a little, and when they are back it’s on fire. There are kids inside the building, and Johnny and Ponyboy think they started it by accident. They felt obligated to risk their lives, but in doing so the injuries inflicted by the fire eventually killed Johnny. Dally who had already been beaten down by the world, couldn’t take Johnny’s death, however it compelled Ponyboy to share this story. These conflicts were a chain of events that built, and made the story possible.
The first story builder is the hatred between the Greasers and the Socs, which is character vs character. When Bob and five other Socs met Ponyboy and Johnny he said, “You know what a Greaser is?” Bob asked. “White trash with long hair.” “You know what a Soc is?” I said. “White trash with Mustangs and madras.” (Hinton 55). After this the Socs attacked, and Johnny killed Bob because he was drowning Ponyboy. This caused

At first things are fine, if a little uncomfortable, but then they leave for a little. When they come back there’s a school picnic going on, and the church is on fire. “I bet we started it,” I said to Johnny. “We must have dropped a lighted cigarette or something.” (Hinton 91). At first it’s nothing to feel guilty about, because no one uses the old church anyways, but then they find out that some kids are trapped in the building. Despite Dally’s berating, Ponyboy and Johnny bolt in to save the kids. Thanks to their heroics, the school children are a bit traumatized, but unharmed. However, the same cannot be said for the heroes, Ponyboy and Johnny; nature has